It's crazy to think that by the time the week ends, the new year will have begun. And what a year this has been, huh? Hope you are all staying safe and taking care and all that. Hope you enjoy the chapter and as always leave a review if you wanna :)

Fun fact about this chapter: Initially I thought it was going to be too short and I'd have to combine this and the next chapter. I ended up having the opposite problem, almost in that it nearly became too long! But here we are.


The steady string of emails that had been coming into the inboxes of all Main Course students in the last few days had been all that everyone could talk about, and Minah wanted to scream. She didn't, of course, just quietly showed her own messages and commiserated with the others. Her replies felt hollow to her ears, since of course that's all they were. Empty, meaningless, the way all lies were in the end and yet somehow so heavy. Nonetheless, there was a part of her that persisted with them, hoping in some way to turn them into truth. She knew it'd mean nothing, that she hoped that her friends and classmates would take her lies as truth, but she did it anyway.

Just as she was doing now, as she and members of her class all gathered around the table at lunch, eager to discuss it after refraining from doing so in any classes or in the presence of any adults.

"I really don't think you should go," Minah said. "Nothing about that seems like it's genuine. It really doesn't. "

"Yeah, it's hella shady." Shuuhei agreed. "Who is this 'A Friend' anyway? And how on earth can he or she or they possibly really know anything about what's going on? There's not enough information."

"They're right though, aren't they?"

Leah looked completely pale, eyes wide as she flicked them from the people seated on the table back to her phone. Minah knew what she was reading, every single word.

The time is ticking after Yuta Yuuki was found, how much longer can you stand wondering if each day is your last? Your school is not even imposing a curfew to keep you safe, or any other kind of system. And while you may be Talented, most of you have ordinary families with few resources. And for those of you lucky to also have wealth and connections as well as Talent, well…

It took Minah a moment to realise that Leah was reading this out, in a hushed voice. A couple of people from Class 100-A, including a young person whose eyes were red and angry with tears, looked over at them and glared. Leah didn't seem to notice, but Minah mouthed an apology at the pair, figuring them to be friends of the latest victim.

"Shhh, what the fuck, Okawa?" Soutarou Lee spluttered. "Do you WANT an adult to find out before any of us manage to get to safety?"

"Exactly!" Ai agreed.

"Maybe an adult should know," Minori Satsuki pointed out, sighing. "How do we know that this is not a new tack by the Despair's Descent group to try and grab most of us?"

"Exactly!" Minah exclaimed.

"Besides, clicking on a link is one of the oldest internet-do-nots, you know?" Shuuhei pointed out. "No way I'm going to fall for that, and surely anyone worth their salt would know the same."

Hiro made a hissing sound of annoyance, and they all turned to look at him.

"Don't you dare, don't any of you dare to tell any adults about this." He said through gritted teeth. "What adult has really, truly done anything for us, except give obvious fucking advice like 'ooooooh, don't go anywhere alone'?"

"Whatever the answer is, it isn't that, I'm sure of it." Minah pleaded. "There's just too many unknowns and it seems like too big a risk to take. "

"Anything's better than wondering if I'm going to get dismembered while walking home from the fucking shops or stabbed if I want to go and let some steam off somewhere fun?"

"Yuuki was a fool," Minori intoned. "Sneaking away from his parents to visit the game center when he wasn't allowed, not even telling friends in case they squealed?"

"You take that back!"

The red-eyed person at the other table had whipped around again and stared down at Minori, who simply looked back at them, blue eyes seeming completely drained of their usual energy.

"Look, that doesn't make it any less sad, but it's true."

"You don't always need to speak all truths now, do you?"

These words of wisdom came from Emlyn, who watched them all carefully, the adornments on today's silk hat weighing it down enough that it was half shadowing his eyes. Nonetheless, the emotions he was feeling were clearly displayed on what was usually an enigmatic face. Shuuhei reached out and squeezed his hand, not letting go as Emlyn first looked at the upset person, who'd now gotten out of their seat, and was staring Minori down. Minori looked over at Emlyn and sighed, shaking her head.

"No, I suppose not. I just don't…this kind of crap is frustrating, you see people get sucked into this kind of scam all the fucking time but it's one thing when the biggest risk is all your personal information being revealed so some troll can doxx you, and when there's actual lives at stake. I'm sorry for your loss. "

The person just stood there until their companion murmured something inaudible to get them to sit down again. Minori shook her head and then turned back to the group.

"But, Satsuki-san, our families. What if it's true?" Leah asked.

Minori blinked.

"You're not from here."

"So?" Leah's shoulders tensed. "I'm still Japanese."

"I believe she is trying to point out that this is a domestic, rather than an international problem, I think. We have made a few international news-sites, but more the international branches of Japanese websites rather than any site specifically from another country. " Shuuhei said. "So there's nothing to worry about in that sense, potentially."

"Yes, that," Minori shook her head. "Sorry, I'm coming off awful today."

"He's right!" Minah exclaimed. "I'm sure you'll be fine, in that sense."

"But if I go home, and they really want to pursue me, they could find a way, couldn't they?" Leah asked.

"No, I don't think so."

This, at least, was truth. They were not so powerful as that, though Minah could picture Shino wanting to at least try. But there was definitely no way they could find their way to South Korea, or the US, or Wales or any of the other places that other Main Course students came from that weren't in Japan, not at short notice and not without raising an alarm. Or at least, she hoped for.

"No, I'm sure this is just a Japan problem, and maybe it's best if you're going to go home." Minah tried to say.

"Are you going home?" Leah asked.

"Not yet," Minah said. "I want to make sure everyone else is alright, first."

And there, another lie.

"Anyway, the twins are taking bloody ages, aren't they?" Ai remarked, yawning. "Where'd they go anyway?"

Leah's eyes widened even more at that, and for a moment, everyone looked at each other, the worry one none of them could voice. Then, Minori looked across the canteen and sighed.

"Look over there. Anyway, I'm off."

Minah followed Minori's pointing, and saw that Mawa and Teruya had just entered the canteen, laden with bags from a nearby restaurant. As Minori walked off, Minah happened to notice Sosuke standing nearby in the queue for canteen food, watching her while he moved along with the queue, selecting his food. Minah didn't acknowledge him, instead holding up an arm for Mawa and Teruya, and then turning back to the table when she knew they had spotted her.

"But yeah, I'm gonna go." Hiro said. "Not yet, but if any more bodies or body parts turn up, I'm going."

"May I tag along?" Shuuhei asked, conversationally.

Soutarou narrowed his eyes at him.

"Thought you said you weren't going?" he asked.

"Going where?" Mawa asked conversationally as she arrived with her brother.

"I can make a guess," Teruya said. "Was there another email since the one this morning?"

"Thankfully, no." Minah said. "I'm hoping they'll stop, they really make me feel uncomfortable."

"I know, right, it's creepy, all that this is the only way and my friend crap."

Minah smiled, pleased that Mawa seemed to agree with her, when she continued on prattling as she undid the wrapping of her food and began eating:

"But, at least someone's looking out for us and offering a solution. It feels like now everyone only really cares about the Reserve Course students. I mean, I guess fair enough there has been some shit, but just because we have Talents and all this so-called privilege, it doesn't mean that we're-"

"Now that's probably a tad unfair, I think, it's not like it's their fault-" Shuuhei pointed out, interrupting Mawa.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was." Soutarou said darkly.

"SHHH! Adult alert, incoming!" Hiro hissed.

Sure enough, a teacher was leading a group of adults into the room. As one of those adults scanned the room, Minah realised with a start that these were some of the detectives who had been around when the disappearances had first started happening. The detective turned to the teacher and asked a question, and then the teacher looked around too, before lifting his hand.

And pointing right at Minah's table.

"What the-guys, did you see that, they just….they just pointed at us?" Ai spluttered.

"It looks like it." Minah murmured.

Sure enough, all three adults started to come over to their table.

"Kita-kun, Kasai-kun, you'll need to come with us." The teacher commanded, almost blandly. "Do you know where your friend Murata is?"

"Uhhh….probably at a practise?" Teruya asked. "He usually has lunch late today because of it, he's pretty serious about his 'craft'."

Teruya laughed, mocking but also fond, but the teacher didn't bite. Instead, she looked over at the detectives. One of them nodded.

"That's fine. We can question him when he's done. Now, if you could come with us."

"Waaait, what's this for?" Hiro said, shoulders tensing as he glared.

"We're not at liberty to say."

All three adults' faces were like stone, and Minah had to fight to keep the sudden shiver that coursed through her fully repressed. She couldn't tell whether the boys looked scared because they knew something, or scared because they were confused.

"Right, then, I guess we'd better go-Mawa, stick with the girls, okay?"

"What, wait-where're you taking my brother?" Mawa demanded as Hiro and Teruya got up. "Are you arresting him?"

She half got up, planting her fists on the table and leaning in. Her eyes were furious, and as one detective studied her, for the first time he softened, very, very slightly.

"No, there is no arresting going on at this stage."

Unfortunately, he didn't give a further explanation than that, instead herding the two boys away along with the other detective and the teacher. Everyone on the table stared at them as they exited the canteen, Mawa in particular intensely focused. She ignored Minah's pleas to sit down and eat, and instead kept watching. She didn't rant or yell or make a scene, and somehow, that was worse than if she had decided to do all those things. She didn't even react to the whispers of everyone else, speculating about why it had been Teruya and Hiro who were selected in particular.

"Mawa," Minah tried again. "Mawa, what are you doing after lunch?"

Mawa blinked, and then turned slowly to Minah, looking as if all her colour had drained.

"Is Teruya in trouble, do you think?" she asked, in an unusually small voice.

"I don't know," Minah answered. "I hope not. But, Mawa, what are you doing after lunch?"

Mawa blinked, and shrugged.

"She can come with us!" Ai interjected. "We'll go girl shopping-or, would you rather we wait till you're finished your TEP, Minah?"

"No, it's okay, you go." Minah shook her head. "It's fine."

"No, I'm going to wait for them." Mawa said abruptly.

Without looking at them, she grabbed her school bag and pushed back her chair, striding off, almost gone before Minah could say or do anything.

"She-she left her food!" Leah gasped. "I'll go after her!"

Now Leah jumped up, gathering up the rest of Mawa's lunch and stuffing it back into the bags that it came from. Ai helped her, and then the two of them left once Minah reassured them that she'd be fine and was indeed going to get ready for her TEP as soon as she had finished. The others talked around her as she quickly hoovered up the remains of her own lunch and then packed away her things. Before she got up to leave, she decided to discreetly check her phone. Making sure that nobody was paying attention, she opened the 'Shhh!' chat to see the most recent messages.

To her surprise, as well as the group chats rambling about the 'A Friend' emails and the next steps to take, there was a message directly to her, from Sosuke. Sucking in a breath, she looked up and around, but clearly he'd already left. Her heart started to hammer as she opened the message.

Sosuke Mori: Be careful to not sound too genuine when you are interacting with your classmates. If you go too far with the act, you may jeopardise things. We need to know that we can trust you.

Be careful to not sound too genuine…what did that even mean? Minah took in another breath, and then quietly let it out. Was he just being cautious and finicky? Or did he, and by extension everyone else, think that she was going to be traitorous? Waiting for her to decide to go to a police station again, waiting for her to find some other way to squeal on them and then….and then what? What would they do? What could they do?

Minah put her phone away and got up. She couldn't think too much about this, she just couldn't.

"See you later, guys!" she called out as she rushed away.

"That's great work, you're really improving. Let's take a quick water break and then we'll swap partners, alright?"

"Sure thing!" Ami said cheerfully.

Minah sighed in relief as Kaneda eagerly roped the other TEPs into a chat, allowing her to go over to the side where her bag was, and sit quietly with her bottle of water, taking sips and allowing herself a little moment of pseudo-solitude. She decided to also take the time to send a message to the group chat, letting them know about what her class were thinking about the emails, particularly that there seemed to be a few already gearing up to take them up on the offer. Yet, she found herself hesitating with every step. Taking her phone out in the first place. Unlocking it. Then finding the chat. And now, with a water bottle in her other hand, her fingers hovered over the keyboard and refused to press. Refused to commit.

But, I'm well and truly stuck now, aren't I? I'm stuck, I agreed to this. To let them hurt them. How can I have the right to feel sorry for myself over this?

She pressed a single letter, and then another, forming a few words, when suddenly the door to the gymnasium slammed open, and scrambling, running footsteps thundered towards her. Minah looked up to see Mawa, eyes wild and hair a mess, rushing towards her.

"They've taken him to the police station!" she cried out. "They've taken him, and Kita too, they've-"

Minah's phone and water bottle slipped out of her hands, and she stood up immediately.

"Has he been arrested?"

"No, no, I don't think…they just said more questioning…I think…I don't know why!"

"Oh-ho, what's happened?"

"The fuck's going on?"

"Hey, has something happened?"

Kaneda and the other students rushed over, and Mawa turned to glare at them.

"Why do you care? Surely you're pleased, aren't you, that a Main Course student is getting into trouble? This is what you wanted all along, right?"

"Oh for crying out loud, it's not always about you." Niiyama rolled her eyes. "Stop being such a drama queen."

"Mawa, that's unfair to them, they don't know what's going on. And Niiyama-san, this is her brother that she's worrying about. Her twin brother."

Minah was relieved to see that Niiyama did at least look a little ashamed at the revelation, but Mawa didn't seem any better.

"Now, now, if you take a deep breath, have a think. Are you sure there's something you don't know?" Kaneda said soothingly. "Did your brother say anything to you?"

Minah kept her eyes resolutely on her friend's face, avoiding looking at Kaneda. Mawa's breathing was laboured, but her posture relaxed very, very slightly as she seemed to consider this carefully. Eventually, she spoke.

"I don't know, really….Teruya said something though, before he was led away, that it was about the pranks…"

"What, are they saying those weird pranksters from a while ago have something to do with…." Ami's voice lowered to a whisper. "The murders?"

"I don't know!" Mawa said. "I don't know what to do."

"Have you called your parents?" Minah asked.

"What are they gonna do from the other side of the country?"

"You should still at least call them. Did sensei go with them?"

"No, she just went back to her classroom, I think!"

Mawa's voice was rising again, and quickly Minah put a hand on her shoulder.

"Mori-sempai might know what to do, or he'll know someone who can get to him until we can reach your parents. " Minah suggested cautiously. "I could go and get him, maybe? Or, Teranaga-san might be able to."

"Could you come with me?" Mawa asked, now trembling. "To the police station? I don't want to wait there on my own."

Minah stared, blinked. Fully aware Kaneda was there, she continued to refuse to look at him. Mawa looked back at her pleadingly. It'll be fine, right? It has to be. I'm not going in myself, for myself. Just to help a friend…

"Okay," she said. "Sure. Let me change first, okay?"

"Mmmm."

Mawa sighed, and sat down in the space Minah had been sitting in, pushing her bags aside. Minah carefully picked up her own things, including her phone, which now had a crack in the corner of the screen. Absently, she rubbed at it before looking to her TEPs.

"Alright, we'll need to wrap up early for today. I'm really sorry about that, but I'll see if we can wrangle an extra session in some point next week to make up for it."

"Ah, it's no problem." Moriuchi said conversationally.

The others said something similar, and then they went off to change. Minah did so as quickly as she possibly could, all too aware that Mawa was depending on her now. But as she did, she heard a voice behind her.

"So, you're heading to the police station again, are you?"

Minah flinched as Kaneda slung an arm around her shoulders, in a gesture that wasn't normally out of place. She dared to sneak a glance at him, and he was all smiles as usual. But his words had been right in her ear, and she knew that nobody else would have heard them.

"It's just for Mawa," she whispered back. "That's all."

"Ah, ah, is that so," Kaneda said loudly. "I'm sure it'll be fine, really. After all, I'm sure you have alibis for him."

"I mean, yeah, probably…" Minah tried to reply at a normal volume. "But first we need to see what's going on. "

"Of course, of course," Kaneda then lowered his voice. "Be careful what you say though, won't you?"

Minah gulped as his eyes opened for a moment, meeting hers square on. He was so close, too close. There was something in his eyes that told her that he wouldn't hesitate to take action if he did decide that she was taking this opportunity to go to the police.

When she didn't answer, he leaned in closer, and she had to try not to make her fear visible, not to flinch. She couldn't hear the others so presumably they were a bit slower in getting themselves changed.

"You wouldn't want to inadvertently ruin everything now, would you?" he murmured. "Or maybe you do…"

His hand tightened on her shoulder, and though it didn't hurt, as such, none the less waves of panic went through her. Even though it would be easy enough for her to push him off and potentially overpower him, there was something in the set of his face that made her body unable to move.

"I do like you, Kang-kouhai-sensei, but you understand, don't you? That this is important. I don't want anything to get in the way when we're so close."

Wait. No, what if. What if, what if….even deep in her own mind, she couldn't finish he thought and if anything that seemed to make her limbs heavier. Her mouth felt dry, and she had to swallow to open her mouth, to say something in a quick whispered panic:

"I don't, I swear, it's just for Mawa. I'm even asking Mori-san to offer advice, so the rest of you will know that I'm there, and why. Besides, isn't it useful, someone else getting suspected, even if it will be short-lived."

Kaneda blinked once, thinking. Then, thankfully, he loosened his hold, moved away. Minah kept her breath held in as he straightened and blinked, his smile never changing. It could be, couldn't it? But she remembered that he had not had any hesitation that night, when everything had gone completely downhill. The night that was the whole reason that she was here in the first place, having this conversation. She forced herself to focus, to assess the situation.

"Yes, I suppose that is a point," then he returned cheery again. "Well, you'd best be off, right, kouhai? Wouldn't want to be keeping you with your friend waiting! Let us know if you need anything!"

"Yeah, do!" she heard Ami's voice chime out.

"Sure, thanks and sorry again!"

She watched for a moment as Kaneda glomped Moriuchi and grinned at the two girls, wondering if he had looked the way he did now, goofy and relaxed, when he had been with her. Of course he had, she scolded herself. There's no way that they would have noticed anything different, would they? Quickly, not wanting to look at him any longer, she went over to Mawa.

"Okay, let's go," she said. "I'll message Mori-san on the way and I'm sure he'll know what to do."

"Mmm-hey, Minah, are you okay?"

"What?"

"You've gone pale."

"Have I-oh, um. "

Minah remembered the suspicion that she'd had. Or rather, it was bought to the forefront of her mind. It wasn't so unbelievable, really, was it? She wondered why it was nobody else had wondered, what nobody else seemed to have thought the same.

Then again, it was what they all wanted, right? So perhaps it was easy to turn a blind eye.

And who am I to be repulsed, when what I am doing is so much worse?

"I'm fine, really. Just…need something to eat. But, I'm sure there'll be a vending machine at the station, right? Let's go, your brother needs us."

Mawa frowned at her, but then shrugged, becoming resolute.

"Yeah. Yeah, he does."

In truth, Sosuke found it strange to be sitting in President Nomura's usual seat. He had hoped that it would happen, but had mostly accepted that such an elevation in status was not something that would have happened within conventional means with Nomura around. After all, whenever the school had had an SHSL School Council President, it went without saying that they'd go on to occupy that role during their time at Hope's Peak. The luck of being able to properly become Deputy had been just that-luck, really. He had not expected further power to be in reach through this path. After all, was that not why he'd followed Mizuki there into that secret graveyard at the beginning of the year?

It turned out though, luck had funny ways of working, such as striking Nomura down with a fever all of a sudden, rendering him incapacitated.

It would not be a luck that lasted, for sure, but he intended on stretching it out as long as he could. And if he played it right, he could use this temporary burst of power to feed into the new power he'd gained over the year. The secret control he had over the terror that was palpable in the school. Even in this very room, with so many people missing from this room.

"There's been another brawl out on the grounds." Mizuki reported, looking up from her phone.

"Oh, yes?"

"It looks like Kishitani-san is intervening for his sister. Okikura-san's trying to get it broken up."

"So, what do you want to do, Acting President?"

Sosuke had not yet decided to get people to call him that, but he had to admit that the term was a pleasing one. It fitted him well, and perhaps in another scenario he would have been satisfied to wear it, and to remember that he had once worn it. Even for such a short period, it would be something to remember and to wield, and then he could have climbed to greater heights within the adult world.

It wasn't enough anymore, but that was beside the point really.

"There are not enough of us here for there to be any worth in starting the meeting, from either side. I recommend we wait a little while, but naturally if you want to put forward topics to discuss when we do start, feel free."

"Does that include us?" Mihoko asked pointedly.

"Naturally." Sosuke nodded.

He looked at her carefully, noting that her hands were ink-stained. She looked right back at him, and he nodded subtly. He wondered how it was she had set up the care of her accounts for the event she ended up turned against. He didn't doubt she had the know-how to manage it anyway, but he thought briefly of sending her advice-as long as it wasn't his lawyer, it would be alright.

"Is it true, someone else disappeared yesterday?" Suika, a Reserve Course representative, asked.

"You mean the gaming guy?" another one asked.

"He didn't disappear," Mihoko pointed out, acidly. "He was found right where he was killed."

"No, this one was a girl, right?" Mokomichi asked casually.

"Naomi Kasuga, the SHSL Violist from 99-B." Sosuke told them.

He gestured to the wall where they had, for some reason, stuck up all the missing posters. A great deal of those students were no longer technically missing, but the point still needed to be made. Without looking, he mentally ran through the names of all the Main Course dead of this year, excluding Naomi because he had just mentioned it, and Riko and Yuna because their deaths had been completely unrelated:

Sachi Tatsumi, SHSL Pyrotechnician, 98-A

Izumo Abe, SHSL Cartographer, 98-A

Kazusa Shirota, SHSL Jeweller, 100-B, Class Representative

Ren Sakabe, SHSL Telemarketer, 98-B

Kimi Orie, SHSL Literary Analyst, 100-A

Nobuaki Hirata, SHSL Deep Sea Diver, 100-B, replacement Class Representative

Sho Nakajima, SHSL Pilot, 99-B

Taki Ichihara, SHSL Carpenter, 98-B, Class Representative

Yuta Yuuki, SHSL Cryptologist, 100-B

"It's kind of scary, isn't it, so many of you disappearing?" Misa murmured.

"It is troubling, yes. " Sosuke said, as neutral as possible.

"At least they now know how we have been feeling, don't they?" Kumori remarked darkly. "If they can't handle this fear now then imagine how we've been feeling all this time."

"Not like this, though!" Misa said. "I didn't imagine that something like this would happen. "

"Also, it hasn't really helped, has it? I swear half of you suspect us, and there're still all those fights." Suika pointed out. "And the riots. You know I was almost late this morning, right? And that's affecting more of us than it is them. I mean, you guys."

"I'm aware, but the riots themselves are out of our hands, especially as that involves members of the public. " Mizuki pointed out.

"It's the same thing, isn't it? Now they know how it feels."

"Kurogane-kun." Sosuke warned.

Kumori's eyes flashed, but he leaned back and said nothing else.

"I know how it feels, remember."

They all looked over at Mizuki. Her face was completely serious as she looked at all of them.

"Where the fights are concerned, and the fear…I know how it feels, remember. And just because I'm now on 'the other side', so to speak, that doesn't mean that I have forgotten."

She had started to unroll her sleeve, and when she was done she revealed a neat scar. Newly formed, from the looks of things, about ten centimetres, and relatively neat, but stark. Sosuke glanced at Mokomichi, whose expression had darkened.

"When did this happen?" Sosuke asked.

"Day before yesterday." Mizuki replied. "Mokomichi was there."

That much was obvious. Sosuke had noticed that Mokomichi had seemed stiff in his posture, and now wondered if it was because he was bruised. He was surprised that such a fight had not reached his ears, but small fights had been breaking all over campus for days now. If it had been short-lived, it was entirely possible it had been forgotten under the clamour of the larger fights, such as when Yuta Yuuki's friends had confronted a bunch of Reserve Course boys who apparently frequented the same game center that the boy had been found behind.

"We're alright though." Mizuki said, decisively. "But it will need to be something that we do something about."

It did not seem that Mokomichi particularly agreed with this-at least, not with the first half of her statement. Nonetheless, he remained silent, and Sosuke nodded thoughtfully.

"We can save that for when the meeting begins." He decided.

As if he had summoned everyone else, the door to the Student Council room suddenly opened and everyone that they had been waiting for came tumbling in.

"Sorry we're late, it's crazy out there!"

"Agreed, it's outrageous," Masao groaned. "Simply just outrageous. The Reserve Course students are getting out of hand, and I swear some of them are actually GLAD that we're having trouble now."

This, Sosuke had to agree with, but he just nodded. Masao continued on, however, even as he and everyone else quickly took their places and pulled themselves together.

"I swear, things were so much better before all of this started happening." Masao said. "When people knew where they belonged."

"Things certainly have cha-"

Sosuke was interrupted by Mizuki.

"You mean, things were better when you were allowed to get away with things?" Mizuki shook her head. "Listen, the current state of affairs aren't acceptable, that is true, but that applies to both our courses, not just one. "

"Says you." Masao sneered. "I bet you bought your way into the Main Course, didn't you?"

"I did no such thing," Mizuki responded with a surprising calm. "Nonetheless, I suppose we may as well start this by saying the current situation is a very good reason why we should be trying to persuade the Principals to separate the courses."

Masao's lip curled at this, and he shook his head.

"Perhaps all of this was you-after all, things were fine before you arrived here. Absolutely fine."

"No, they weren't-"

"Yes, they were. Things were fine, and then you swanned along here with a title you don't really deserve, making complaints and causing everything to go wrong."

"You only think they've gone wrong because you can no longer truly get away with bullying others, because you are now getting to be held to account for your actions-and so is your sister." Mizuki replied. "The Reserve Course students deserve to have a good educational experience, the same as you."

"If you think the Reserve Course are so special, perhaps then you should go back there, shouldn't you? Little slut."

It seemed that everyone in the room sucked in a breath simultaneously, and even Sosuke found that he could to say anything to get them back on track. For what felt like the longest time, Mizuki stared at Masao, who simply sneered back. Then, carefully, she said:

"What did you call me?"

"Oh, didn't you hear me?" Masao jeered. "I called you a slut, because that's what you are. Slumming it with the Reserve Course, no doubt using that to make you look good to them all, so they think you're so relatable, giving them ideas above their station."

"Ideas above their station?" A Reserve Course representative muttered. "Hell, is this the Meiji era or something?"

Mizuki's eyes flashed and she stood up. Alright, this has gone too far now, I need to get us back on track. But Sosuke was distracted by a motion in the corner of his eye, and he turned to see Mokomichi get up and go around the table, positioning himself so that he stood in front of Masao, also blocking Mizuki's view of him.

"Oh, what, coming to defend your girl's honour?" Masao rolled his eyes. "You're wasting your time-someone like her has none."

"Are you sure you want to keep saying that?"

Sosuke couldn't see Mokomichi's face from this angle, but his voice was a measured monotone, expressionless, almost dead. And Masao's sneer completely melted away as he met Mokomichi's eyes, to be replaced by something akin to terror. Mokomichi remained still for a moment, and then nodded slightly before saying.

"Thought not."

"Yamashita-kun, you need to sit down. The pair of you, I do not want to hear anything more from regarding all this." Sosuke finally said. "We need to get started."

Mokomichi nodded at this, and went back over to his seat, though not before pausing by Mizuki and touching her shoulder tenderly, leaning in to murmur something to her. Mizuki nodded at him, smiled, whispered something back. As the others blinked in statement (and Mihoko, for a moment, seemed almost angry) Masao's eyes bulged at the sight, although nothing particularly untoward was occurring, and as he opened his mouth to protest Sosuke made sure to catch his eye and give a meaningful look. Masao glowered, but sat back, and Sosuke waited calmly. For he was sure that Mokomichi's actions had been calculated, designed to provoke reaction. He'd wanted to taunt Masao with the fact their relationship existed and would continue to for as long as possible. Perhaps he wanted to taunt all of them.

It didn't work on Sosuke. Unless it affected his own interests, there was no real reason for it to do so.

So it was a relief when Mokomichi sat down. Indeed, it felt like the entire room collectively took a breath. Sosuke faced them all, and started the meeting, quickly running through the issues that he and Mizuki (and Nomura before his illness) had come up with.

The first, Teruya Kasai. Since he had been extensively cleared, particularly where the attack on Taki had been concerned, thanks to airtight alibis, this was a relatively easy point to cover.

"Nonetheless, if you do suspect someone in the Main Course of being responsible," Mizuki said. "Please do speak up. But be sure, whoever you are accusing, from whatever course, that your reasons are genuine."

"That goes without saying, naturally." Sosuke agreed. "But yes. There is no sense in spreading unnecessary hysteria, so I do not expect any of you to go looking for a fight."

"I am not the one looking for fights, it is those good for nothings who start the-"Masao began.

"Then don't finish them." Mihoko spoke up.

Once again, Masao's eyes bulged, as he whipped his head around to look at Mihoko, who seemed almost bored at his repeated opening and shutting of his mouth. Indeed, as she looked at his outraged expression she yawned in an exaggerated manner. Masao's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth again, this time gearing up to say something.

"Why, you-

"Still, he has a point," Toru, the representative of 99-B pointed out quickly. "There are a lot of Reserve Course students who seem to be using this opportunity to really pick a bone with us, and yes, they've gone through a lot of sucky stuff but that's no excuse."

"Which brings us onto our next point, about the fights," Sosuke intervened smoothly. "The atmosphere around the school is heightened, particularly since we've now got outside events disrupting our lives here. Sakurai-san has a good point about not finishing fights, even if others provoke them. After all, all of us here are meant to be providing good examples to the rest of the school. We do not want the reputation of the school to tank further than it has."

After some discussion about this, they then moved onto the matter of the replacement representatives for 100-B and 98-A. Nobody from the latter class seemed they wanted to step up, particularly since it was their final ever term there. As for 100-B, they sorely needed a representative but also were worried, considering their class had lost both their main representative and their replacement. There was nothing to suggest that representatives were particularly being targeted, especially considering most of them were still here at this very moment. Nonetheless, the blow was significant. In the end, it was decided that they would persuade 100-B to elect another replacement, whom Mizuki would assist, while the rest of the Main Course Student Council would all take on shared responsibility for 98-B.

After that, there were questions about the planned end of school year celebrations. Under better circumstances, they would have begun planning it in earnest. Sosuke knew that Nomura still wanted them to happen, but he decided to test his little taste of new power and state that for now, they would not be going ahead. A party was something that would take people's minds off of things, distract them from what was going on, after all. While a false sense of security could be useful, it was only an extra level of complication in their plans. No, on balance, it made sense that he could only change things if everyone was still seen to be wavering, still trying to find that new normal.

Then, I could guide them towards it.

It was not a popular decision, and the resulting outcry from both sides was something that Sosuke had expected. But Mizuki, who would have supported cancellation even if she had not been involved in the true reasons for it, staunchly defended him and he was able to point out that a party would seem crass to the public and lower their reputation even more, during a time they needed to bolster it again. Which was, of course, true. Still, in the end he placated them by allowing a 'compromise' in the form of possibly hoping for a small celebration if the crimes stopped occurring.

And then, finally, the emails.

"We all got another one this morning, didn't we?"

A redundant question from Mizuki, since Mihoko had crafted this email herself and set the timer the night before so that it'd arrive in inboxes around the time students would be waking up. She, Kumori, Mokomichi and Sosuke all did a good job of appearing concerned or confused, as applicable while the rest of the Main Course representatives confirmed that they had.

"I think it's a load of hogswash, I've set the sender to spam." Toru announced.

"Don't be stupid," Masao said. "How'd you know it won't be what's needed? God knows we need a backup plan, considering how things are going to hell here."

"It could be the criminal though, right?" Misa asked.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Anya remarked idly.

"Wh-what? No, of course not!"

"Yes, that is a risk." Sosuke nodded, choosing to not respond to that. "However, it is a resource being offered to us, specifically, so if the need arises for us to use it…"

A deliberate hanging, waiting for the others to bite.

"Right, so we're not going to even tell a teacher that we trust?" Mizuki asked.

"What teacher do you trust?" Masao asked. "One of the Reserve Course ones?"

"No, this is not something we need to get adult intervention on yet. It is entirely possible that whoever it is may get bored, if they are indeed pranking us, and stop. Otherwise…"

Here, Sosuke stopped, as if hesitating with the idea he was about to suggest. Again, waiting for the others to bite. And sure enough, Masao did.

"Otherwise what?"

"Perhaps a group could go together to the location, in order to test it and feedback to the rest of us about whether it is successful. Naturally, you would need to be extra careful, and of course you would not be able to contact us once you are there. However, I am sure this would put all our minds at ease, so that we know that you are just hiding as opposed to being one of the next victims."

"Won't people start freaking out, though?" Toru asked. "After all, we might know but they won't, and our families…"

"If it becomes necessary, the Student Council can and should take the responsibility for that-after all, a number of us do have contacts who could have arranged such a thing, and it would be plausible to take credit for this person's actions."

"It is dangerous," Mizuki added. "And frankly, I'm not recommending that. But these are desperate times, and they call for desperate measures."

"I doubt you're going to do it, though." Toru pointed out.

Mizuki shook her head.

"It is not an idea I am a fan of."

"To be fair it does sound pretty stupid." Suika pointed out.

"Which is why I am not offering it as a first choice, merely a last resort."

Sosuke looked at Mizuki, who pursed her lips. It occurred to him that she was an impressive actor. Then again, they all had to be, really. There was not really any use for any second thoughts if they could not be harnessed for something, after all.

"Spineless, the lot of you," Masao sneered. "Utterly spineless."

"Are you putting yourself and your sister up for this then?"

This question came from Mokomichi, whose expression was utterly blank. Masao startled, flailing slightly. In a gesture unusual for him, he bit his lip and looked tremulously over, before looking away.

"I will arrange something with my class." He eventually answered stiffly. "After waiting a few days to see how the situation changes with respect to our new Deputy's Deputy."

With this last bit, some of Masao's old contempt returned with a harsh undertone in his voice and a slightly curled lip. Sosuke could see, clearly, that Masao wanted to be able to say more but that he felt he no longer could.

I really would be surprised if he was not the one actually carrying out the killings, Sosuke mused as he snuck another glance at the impassive Mokomichi. But perhaps that is not his style. On the other hand….he was glad, and almost impressed, that Kumori had been quiet throughout most of the meeting. His opinions had been clear to see on his face, but no doubt had he expressed them things would have been derailed. Now there, of course, is some strong killing intent. Perhaps that was what he thought Mihoko had detected, but unless she said something or the truth came to light, it was impossible to truly know.

Sosuke looked over at Masao evenly.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I'm their representative, they'll do as I say."

Sosuke nodded at this. At this point, all that needed to be said had been, so he decided to wrap the meeting up.

After he had his lunch, Sosuke headed down to the infirmary to see exactly how Nomura was faring, and perhaps to update him on the meeting the way a good Deputy and Acting President should. To his surprise, when he got there, he saw that Keiko was in the infirmary, apparently sorting out one of the cabinets. She looked up and blinked, before giving one of her usual placid smiles and calling out across the room:

"Oh! Mori-kun, hello there. How are you?"

"Very well, thank you. And yourself?"

"I'm fine-I bought up some of Nurse's laundry and she asked if I could do some clearing out for her and keep an eye on things while she went on her break."

This was not an unusual state of affairs as far as Keiko went, so he was not particularly surprised, but all the same Sosuke nodded carefully.

"I see."

"Are you here to visit President Nomura?" Keiko inquired.

"Yes, I am," Sosuke spotted him in a bed on the opposite end to where he was. "Do you know if he is up to any visitors?"

Keiko, being closer, stepped over and had a look, and then returned to the table she was using to sort out the bottles. Her next words were in an exaggerated whisper:

"It looks like he's asleep, but even if he wasn't I'm not so sure he would have been able to see you. He's caught quite a nasty bug. Thankfully it's nothing too threatening, we're more than able to manage it here from the infirmary, but I just hope it won't go around."

"Yes, that would be a problem." Sosuke said neutrally. "In any case, I have compiled the meeting minutes, and though I emailed them I thought a hard copy would be something he could look over."

"That would be a good idea," Keiko agreed. "Something for him to read. "

Something like that.

Sosuke walked over, and carefully placed the sheaf of papers on the bedside table as he looked over Nomura. Up close, he really did look terrible. Pale and sweaty, the sleep he was in clearly a troubled and uncomfortable one. Quickly, he stepped back, and went over to Keiko.

"How long do you think it may take for President Nomura to recover?" he asked.

Keiko looked up from her organising, brow slightly furrowed.

"It is hard to say, really…it is not my level of expertise."

"Still, you do know a lot about caring for others, particularly when it comes to everyday ailments such as these."

"It is different with younger children though…"

Keiko's frown deepened, and then she looked around her before picking up a few bottles at random, clasping them the way someone would grip onto a stress ball, except without actually squeezing. Then, she leaned in very slightly, and cautiously asked:

"Erm…how long do you want it to take?"

Sosuke stared at her and blinked, considering this for a moment. Here, was another pivotal decision. Another opportunity.

"What can you do?"

"Nothing to…harm, not directly," Keiko stuttered, starting to go red. "Not to make it worse. But…I can…try to prolong the duration of his stay. Nurse trusts me."

"Go on."

"The..sedatives…I can test them. They'll help him rest, in any case. But…I can test them, occasionally."

Keiko put the bottles down abruptly so she could wring her hands. Sosuke looked at her with a new regard. He would never have looked to her, of all people, as a resource to help him make the most of his new and temporary position.

But, if I take this opportunity, that temporary position could be longer-term. Which gives me more time to try and shape things to my benefit. And perhaps to others, too. Altruism was not his goal, but there was no denying that some of the things that were for the better of everyone were things he wanted too, even if only because in the end it would make him more trusted. Even if only in the end, it would be something that Mihoko with her raised eyebrows and faint taunts and ink-stained hands would approve of.

"You are willing?"

"Of course…anything to help!" Keiko stuttered. "That is…if you want. If I've misunderstood then ple-."

Sosuke held up a hand, and gave her an even look. He gave a simple nod, once, and Keiko blinked. Then, she nodded back. A hesitant smile crept over her face, and her blush faded, though it did not completely leave her features. It made her seem girlishly pleased, as if she had just been praised. This, too, Sosuke catalogued quietly.

"Okay, well, I do not wish to disturb your good work or President Nomura's recovery any longer," he said in a normal tone of voice. "So I shall leave you to it. "

Keiko gave him a quick wave as he walked away and replied:

"Ah, of course! Have a good day now!"

And just like that, the arrangement was made.